Nintendo 3DS May Harm Children’s Eyes

The Nintendo 3DS is the next iteration of the popular Nintendo DS series of handheld gaming devices. What sets the 3DS apart from its competitors (basically the Sony PSP and the Apple iPod Touch) is that one of its two screens (hence the name DSmeaning Dual Screen) is a stereoscopic 3D display whose depth can be changed at will from flat 2D to full 3D, without the need for any clunky glasses. Previewers were struck at just how amazing the screen was in real life, and that you’d need to use it to feel the 3D effect as it is lost in cameras.

However, Nintendo’s Japanese website has issued a warning about their (normally) child-friendly device saying that the 3D mode should not be used by children below six years of age as the view has potential impact on the growth of children’s eyes. Stereoscopic 3D on the 3DS works by (mostly) sending the images at angle to each other to each eye. This means that when your brain reads these two images there’s a parallax barrier created between the eyes, creating a 3 dimensional effect. This effect may confuse developing eyes and thus the overarching warning was issued by Nintendo.

However, I cannot help but agree with Business Insider in that Nintendo is basically sticking up a DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR KIDsign for parents on their newest model. Nevertheless, more light will come to this matter once the product is actually released to the English speaking countries.

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Kaushik

A mobile technology lover and a Strategy and RPG-game fanatic. I also enjoy astronomy and programming. I am a biotechnology engineer learning through this fascinating subject while poring over computer science.
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